The U.S. presidential primaries have gotten my Political Junkie juices flowing. It all started out when I was a kid--a young one. I have early memories of seeing, in 1956 when I was six, campaign literature on the ground for presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson and some fellow Democrats. I remember having an understanding, picked up from home, that they were undesirable men, and also remember smudging their faces with my foot.
Today, I'm still interested and found the recent Iowa caucuses intriguing. I like what I see of Mike Huckabee--seems like a genuine fellow and not too ideologically driven. (Hardline conservatives don't care for him). This I think is a good trait. Good past presidents, such as Lincoln, did many good things which did not follow a party line. (It was Lincoln who has been blamed for increasing the power of the presidency at the expense of the other branches of government, by the way.) I don't think Huckabee could win, but you never know. I remember thinking Reagan didn't have a chance in 1980 because his views didn't accord with mainstream America, but he won people over in part because he seemed likeable and sincere. Maybe Huckabee could pull it off.
Other political junkie highlights :
(1) In 1960 I stood at a bend of Route 19 near Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and watched John F. Kennedy (of The Hair and Teeth) swing by, sitting high atop a convertible. (The car was really moving; in retrospect I wonder if that was quite safe...) From sheer curiosity, my family had gone to see him despite his being a Democrat. (To be accurate, my father was far from being an idealogue. Despite my gaining the impression that Republicans were to be preferred, I can't ever remember him railing about it. His political thing was an obscure organization called The Christian Amendment Movement, something that would be extremely complicated to explain just now.)
(2) After John F. Kennedy won and Richard M. Nixon lost that election, I wrote a letter to Nixon telling him something I'd heard my mother say, namely, that he'd been "a good sport" about it when he lost. This is interesting since that's the very thing Nixon was not supposed to be when he lost elections. His notorious words in 1962 when he lost the California gubernatorial race were: "Well, you won't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last election." As it turned out I got a personal reply on official stationery, written on Nixon's last day in office as Vice President (Jan. 19, 1961). Wouldn't you know that somewhere along the line, I lost that letter? The only words I recall were from the first sentence: "I share the pride your parents must have..." (Surely those were Nixonian-sounding words, were they not?)
(3) In 1968 Nixon ran again and I heard he was to appear at the Pittsburgh Airport. I decided to go. On that occasion I actually touched the man, tugging on a couple of fingers as he reached into the crowd.
(4) Sometime in the 1980's, Ben, Jeremy, and I all went to see Brian Mulroney when he was running to become the first Progressive Conservative Prime Minister of Canada in a long while. It was at the Square One shopping mall in Mississauga, Ontario, and Mulroney seemed to be enjoying himself, speaking with great energy. He ended up remaining as PM for about eight years and becoming great buddies with President Reagan. On one memorable St. Patrick's Day, the two Irish descendents publicly sang "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" together. Many Canadians were unhappy having their PM cozy up to a US president while most Americans, of course, couldn't have cared less.)
Today, I'm still interested and found the recent Iowa caucuses intriguing. I like what I see of Mike Huckabee--seems like a genuine fellow and not too ideologically driven. (Hardline conservatives don't care for him). This I think is a good trait. Good past presidents, such as Lincoln, did many good things which did not follow a party line. (It was Lincoln who has been blamed for increasing the power of the presidency at the expense of the other branches of government, by the way.) I don't think Huckabee could win, but you never know. I remember thinking Reagan didn't have a chance in 1980 because his views didn't accord with mainstream America, but he won people over in part because he seemed likeable and sincere. Maybe Huckabee could pull it off.
Other political junkie highlights :
(1) In 1960 I stood at a bend of Route 19 near Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and watched John F. Kennedy (of The Hair and Teeth) swing by, sitting high atop a convertible. (The car was really moving; in retrospect I wonder if that was quite safe...) From sheer curiosity, my family had gone to see him despite his being a Democrat. (To be accurate, my father was far from being an idealogue. Despite my gaining the impression that Republicans were to be preferred, I can't ever remember him railing about it. His political thing was an obscure organization called The Christian Amendment Movement, something that would be extremely complicated to explain just now.)
(2) After John F. Kennedy won and Richard M. Nixon lost that election, I wrote a letter to Nixon telling him something I'd heard my mother say, namely, that he'd been "a good sport" about it when he lost. This is interesting since that's the very thing Nixon was not supposed to be when he lost elections. His notorious words in 1962 when he lost the California gubernatorial race were: "Well, you won't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last election." As it turned out I got a personal reply on official stationery, written on Nixon's last day in office as Vice President (Jan. 19, 1961). Wouldn't you know that somewhere along the line, I lost that letter? The only words I recall were from the first sentence: "I share the pride your parents must have..." (Surely those were Nixonian-sounding words, were they not?)
(3) In 1968 Nixon ran again and I heard he was to appear at the Pittsburgh Airport. I decided to go. On that occasion I actually touched the man, tugging on a couple of fingers as he reached into the crowd.
(4) Sometime in the 1980's, Ben, Jeremy, and I all went to see Brian Mulroney when he was running to become the first Progressive Conservative Prime Minister of Canada in a long while. It was at the Square One shopping mall in Mississauga, Ontario, and Mulroney seemed to be enjoying himself, speaking with great energy. He ended up remaining as PM for about eight years and becoming great buddies with President Reagan. On one memorable St. Patrick's Day, the two Irish descendents publicly sang "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" together. Many Canadians were unhappy having their PM cozy up to a US president while most Americans, of course, couldn't have cared less.)
posted by Ted | 8:27 AM
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